FaxNotes - July 8, 2002

SUBSCRIBE ME!
Get on our e-mail list!

July 8, 2002



National Cancer Institute Pulls Inaccurate Web Page on ABC/Link In a statement issued July 2 by the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, Karen Malec, president of the group said "We're delighted that the National Cancer Institute has pulled its web page discussing the abortion-breast cancer link. The web page misinformed women about research paid for by U.S. taxpayers and even contained lies about the findings reported in the medical literature." The National Cancer Institute has ignored the fact that 28 out of 37studies worldwide and 13 of 15 American studies report an elevated risk for breast cancer among women who have had an induced abortion. Mrs. Malec pointed out that last month, 28 Members of Congress sent a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson requesting a review of the NCI's fact sheet and calling its information "scientifically inaccurate and misleading to the public." They asked Secretary Thompson to check the web page "for accuracy and bias" and to take it down until after conclusion of the review. Assisted Suicide Requests Result from Fear – Most Change Their Minds Nearly 90 percent of people who ask their doctors to help them kill themselves later change their minds. Researchers said their findings show that most seriously ill people who ask about assisted suicide are actually afraid of pain or other issues and need to be reassured. "People usually change their minds," Dr. Susan Tolle, director of the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health and Science University, said in a telephone interview. "The doctors are never taught in medical school what to do, what to say, how to help people with the fears that led to their request." Dr. Tolle explained, "What a doctor needs to do is take a deep breath and say ‘Why do you ask?' rather than indicating either that you are willing to participate or that you are unwilling to participate." "The doctor should ask, ‘ What are you afraid of? What are you worried about?, '" she advised. (Reuters, 7/2/2002) [Thanks to The Pro-Life Infonet for bringing the two previous articles to our attention] Planned Parenthood's Political Action Committees Benefit from Our Tax Dollars Every election cycle, Planned Parenthood's political action committees target pro-life candidates for defeat, putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into radio and TV attack ads. They help fill the coffers of pro-abortion candidates. CNSNews.com reported on June 24, 2002 that Planned Parenthood Votes Illinois spent between $220,000 and $250,000 to attack Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan, in order to help pro-abortion Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood, who finished third in the state's March primary. Now the group is reportedly planning to spend $1 million for TV ads attacking Jim Ryan this fall, hoping to elect the pro-abortion Democrat, Rod Blagojevich - the largest "independent expenditure" ever in a race for Illinois state office. (Crain's Chicago Business, 6/24/02) Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) receives an estimated $60 million a year in taxpayer money for so-called family planning activities. While PPFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which is forbidden from using those funds for political advocacy, those very monies free up funds derived from other sources for use in trying to elect pro-abortion candidates or defeat those who are pro-life. De-funding Planned Parenthood should be a top priority for the Bush administration and for the Republican congressional leadership if for no other reason than it makes good political sense. As long as they keep feeding Planned Parenthood, it will bite them at every campaign opportunity. Will Bush Cut Off Funds for UNFPA? A Washington Post report on 6/29/02 says that President Bush is heading toward a decision to cut off millions of dollars for the U.N. Fund for Population Activities, a program that pro-life groups and lawmakers charge condones forced abortions and sterilizations in China, home of the notorious "one child" policy. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a pro-abortion Democrat, threatened to launch "a major legislative fight" if Bush cuts off the funds. The Kemp-Kasten Amendment, passed in 1984, a provision that appears in every foreign operations spending bill, prohibits funding any group that "supports or participates in the management of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." Will President Bush honor Kemp-Kasten? Pro-lifers should expect no less.